We propose the National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Excellence (NISBRE) in response to NOT-RR-05- 004 - Cooperative Agreement for the Biennial Institutional Development Award Program Symposia. Biennial symposia will consist of scientific sessions, workshops and other forms of information exchange for the nearly 100 IDeA centers and address the requirements of the program announcement with three Specific Aims. Specific Aim 1. Plan and organize a biennial scientific symposium to showcase research by IDeA (COBRE and INBRE) investigators. The scientific part of the proposed symposium consists of lectures by keynote speakers, concurrent scientific sessions of oral and poster presentations in common areas of research activity. The purposes of the presentations are to communicate scientific achievements and to showcase the scientific progress to date of the IDeA program. Specific Aim 2. Develop and organize a series of technical collaborative workshops for IDeA scientists to expand their technological repertoire and improve their competitiveness. The program provides training in two categories: 1) new and emerging technologies (including genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics), translational and clinical research networks, bioinformatics and information technology and 2) general scientific skills necessary for success such as improved grantsmanship and mentoring. Specific Aim 3. Enhance communications, share common experiences and establish research collaborations between multidisciplinary investigations of the IDeA community. The proposed program is designed to provide attendees with several interactive forums to exchange ideas and experiences that will serve to enhance the success of the IDeA programs and centers. The proposed National IDeA Symposium of Biomedical Research Excellence (NISBRE) will incorporate innovative planning to better meet the immerging interests and needs of IDeA investigators and to maximize interactions between senior scientists, and in particular junior faculty and post-doctoral fellows. Our expectations at the conclusion of this five-year award are that we will have much greater cohesion within the IDeA community of scientists, as evidenced by cross-institutional and multidisciplinary collaborative projects. These proposed symposia should have a significant impact on improving future funding success for investigators at institutions within the IDeA Program.